Sabari stir won’t bring in votes: Veteran BJP leader P P Mukundan

Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP is nervously watching veteran leader P.P. Mukundan’s next move as he has indicated his plan to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvananthapuram. Mr Mukundan, former organising BJP general secretary, who was sidelined by the party leadership, has been waiting for an opportunity to hit back.

He lashed out at the leadership for ignoring scores of workers and alienating them from the party. ‘The leadership is living in a fool’s paradise if it thinks that the Ayyappa devotees who participated in the Nama Japam protest would vote for the BJP,’ he told DC.

He said this was the right time to restructure the party. He opined that it was good to see new faces in the party, but it requires seasoned and experienced leaders as well, he said.

‘There are several veteran leaders from the Jan Sangh days who have been sitting idle. Scores of leaders who put in decades of service are being cold-shouldered,’ he said.

Mr Mukundan had received a ‘cold reception’ when he arrived at Mararji Bhavan, the office of the state BJP headquarters, in 2016 when Mr Kummanam Rajasekharan was the state president, despite his proximity towards the RSS state leadership. He has a huge fan following within the RSS and BJP and is swarmed by visitors most of the days. The party leadership has not responded to his move to contest the elections.